“It’s in the town’s best interest to seek the best town manager it can afford,” Commissioner Marc Appelbaum said after the Monday, Oct. 26 meeting at which the committee was formed. “We have been pretty constant about this statement all along. We have a clear position.”

Mayor Rick Solloway read from a statement he drafted with help from town attorney Glenn Mandalas. Solloway said Elliott is under a five-year contract that expires Dec. 10 without action from either Elliott or the town. Accordingly, he said, commissioners were obligated to act to seek candidates.

“Since the town manager employment agreement will soon terminate, during executive sessions appropriately conducted on personnel matters, tasks were assigned to proactively search for the best town manager Dewey Beach could attract, whether it be Mr. Elliott or someone else,” Solloway said.

Commissioners unanimously named Jim Dedes, Betty Laird, Anna Legates, Joy Howell and Ken Lodge to the search committee. All have backgrounds in public administration or human resources.

“It’s a very skilled committee,” said Commissioner Marty Seitz. “We’ll be relying on them to tell the commissioners where we need to go.”

Appelbaum said Mandalas has already received as many as 80 applications. Seitz said the committee will do less searching than it will sifting.

“We’ve got some good applicants, so there’s really no need to look further,” said Sietz. An ad he placed in national newspapers and job websites lists as minimum requirements a bachelor’s degree in public administration or a similar field, four years’ experience in administration and two years’ management experience.

Seitz said additional experience could compensate for lack of a college degree.

The deadline for hopefuls is Saturday, Oct. 31. Sietz said the committee’s work should be done in a matter of weeks, adding, “We have a transitional plan that involves hiring somebody for a temporary period, if necessary.”

Tough questions

At the Saturday, Oct. 10 town council meeting, several citizens were surprised to learn the town was advertising the position of town manager. On Oct. 26, Lewes resident Georgia Leonhart asked Seitz who directed him to advertise Elliott’s position.

Sietz said he didn’t remember. “Look, I’ve got a lot of assignments that are being given to me,” he said. When Leonhart pressed him, his temper flared: “I’m not interested in sitting here and answering questions of an interrogation nature,” he said. “I’m going to be less and less cooperative the more you keep drilling me, Ms. Leonhart.”

At the meeting’s conclusion, Cooke said the council could be walking into legal trouble.

“I don’t think you followed the process,” he said. “I think you’re setting the town up for legal bills it doesn’t need. I bid you be very, very careful about the ground you are on.”

Appelbaum said the commissioners are within their rights to keep personnel talks private.

“We discuss personnel matters in executive session,” he said. “When it comes to critiquing the town manager, I think it’s inappropriate to discuss it at a public meeting. I just think the town is being responsible.”

Former Mayor Pat Wright said she signed Elliott’s contract, though she doesn’t remember the specifics of the agreement. Regardless, she said, the town should have treated him with greater courtesy.

“It’s personal,” she said. “If he wasn’t doing such a good job, they should have talked to him. They could have handled it more diplomatically.”